


The Best Birthday

by demonoflight



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Birthday, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-21
Updated: 2011-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-27 17:25:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/298246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonoflight/pseuds/demonoflight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's John's 21st birthday, but what is Vriska up to?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best Birthday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [throwntotheair (eloquentelegance)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eloquentelegance/gifts).



> Hey! This is my first time writing John/Vriska and I really hope I did the ship justice... I do rather like these guys. I really hope my recipient likes this! Happy holidays!!!

Making John Egbert feel special on his birthday wasn't a hard task. After his disastrous 13th, he would have considered a birthday spent sitting through multiple exams and eating a cheap muffin with a candle on top to be perfect. But his friends, human and troll alike, did their best to make his 21st birthday special.

John woke up that morning to breakfast in bed, courtesy of his girlfriend. It wasn't much; just a tray with a bowl of his favorite cereal and a glass of orange juice, accompanied by a note with " _< 33333333_" scrawled on it in Vriska's sharp handwriting. She wasn't even there to hand it to him, instead putting the tray on his nightstand and sneaking a morning kiss before slipping out. But the gesture really meant the world to him. He couldn't believe they had finally crossed the fine line between inseparable friends and significant others only six months ago; it just felt so natural. Being Vriska's boyfriend wasn't much different than being Vriska's good friend. The only real difference was that John tried to be a little more romantic, which Vriska fondly teased him for. And, of course, the increase in physical contact. All the extra cuddles and impromptu fondling and sloppy makeouts were definitely a big bonus.

Vriska wasn't in the kitchen when he came down to clear his tray, but John thought nothing of it. He figured she was probably in her old bedroom, which they had converted into a workroom after they started sleeping in the same bed. Probably working on all the irons she had in the fire, he thought with a smile.

The rest of the day was uneventful, but for the fact that Rose and Jade's birthday messages for him were very short and Dave was suspiciously absent from their shared college classes - his best friend was surprisingly dedicated to film school. John naturally suspected they were up to something, and naturally, he was right - as he stepped out of the film school building that evening, his three oldest friends grabbed him and practically kidnapped him to the club where Dave usually played his sick jams, where most of the trolls were waiting for them.

The only one who was missing was Vriska.

"I wouldn't worry, John," Rose told him when he asked of his girlfriend's whereabouts. "She said she has 'all the irons in the fire', in her words. She has big things planned."

"Yeah man, you're getting to press all eight of her happy spots tonight," Dave offered.

"Oh, gross, Dave!" John laughed, despite himself.

"Enough of that!" Jade exclaimed. "John, I think it's time to officially make you a man!" She started giggling like it was the world's greatest joke, and handed him his first pint of quality foreign beer.

It tasted like socks.

By the end of the night, John was the only one who wasn't falling down drunk. The only one who didn't abstain from drinking alcohol, at least - Rose was a sworn teetotaler and drank nothing but diet coke on the rocks the whole night. John exchanged the beer with some fruity drink (which Dave claimed was the girliest drink he could ever pick) and watched in amusement as his friends got completely hammered. They started doing completely embarrassing things; Jade, for one thing, told everyone about some of her best kept secrets, including the fact that she didn't know how to tie her shoes until John showed her how when they were 13. Equius and Tavros had a very loud argument about the many qualities of musclebeasts, which John swore to forget as soon as possible. The highlight of the night was definitely the part where Karkat declared his undying love for everyone, pressed a sloppy, off-center kiss to his matesprit's mouth and started singing an ancient Alternian drinking song with Gamzee and Dave. It was really an amazing night.

And yet, part of him was still disappointed that Vriska wasn't there to celebrate with him. When it started weighing on his thoughts, he reminded himself that Vriska said she has plans. She was waiting for him at home, and they'll spend time together and it'll be fantastic. He was sure of it.

He bid farewell to his plastered friends an hour before midnight - he wanted to see Vriska while it was still his birthday - and left with a large plastic bag full of presents slung over his shoulder. Having left his bicycle at college, he made his way home by foot. It was a long walk, but not unpleasant. The sky was clear, and the cool breeze ruffled John's messy hair, lightly teasing it. He smiled. It was like the wind was trying to catch his attention, saying 'hey, Hero of Breath, just wanted to say happy birthday!'. Seven years after Sburb, he still felt like he and the wind were pretty chummy.

When he came home, he found it engulfed by darkness. He raised an eyebrow. Strange. He figured there would be at least a romantic dim light at the living room or something. Shrugging, he walked up to the door, bringing out his key. He unlocked the door and opened it slowly, peering inside.

"Hello?" he called. "Vriska?" He squinted, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. Slowly, he started figuring out the outlines of the furniture. The television set, the coffee table, the couch... and to his surprise, horns, and a lot of messy hair.

John flicked the light switch, fully illuminating the living room. Indeed, there was Vriska, sitting on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest. She was dressed in her pajamas, a ratty grey tanktop two times too big and baggy blue flannel pants that used to be his several years ago. On the coffee table was a bowl of popcorn, a large stack of DVDs, and a vase with a single lavender-colored rose - a Blue Moon rose, he realized.

He stepped closer and got a better look at Vriska's face. Her brows were furrowed, her lips pressed tightly against each other, and... were these tears?! Yes, there they were, light blue lines running down her pale grey cheeks. Something in John's heart broke, and he wasted no time in taking the spot next to Vriska on the couch, letting the present bag go and unceremoniously fall to the floor, spilling the gifts everywhere.

"Vriska, what's wrong?" he asked, pushing an errant lock of hair from Vriska's face. She winced, letting her head sink and dipping her chin in the space between her chest and her knees. "Vris... what happened?"

"I'm the worst girlfriend in the world is what happened," Vriska murmured, closing her eyes. More tears escaped her eyes, running down her cheeks in rivulets of translucent cerulean.

"What?!" John gaped, and shook his girlfriend's shoulder lightly. "No, that's not true at all!"

"Don't try to deny it, John," the troll sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know how to be nice to anyone, I'm shit at being culturally sensitive, I don't know why I'm even trying..."

"But Vriska, what makes you think--"

 _"Everything!"_ she cried, lifting her head abruptly to look at him. The yellow of her eyes was heavily tinted blue; John realized she must have spent several hours crying, and felt even worse. "Look at me, John, I can't even get myself to look nice for you on your wriggling--ugh, your birthday! I tried to do all these nice things for you because that's what humans do for birthdays, but everything I tried to do today just sucked!"

"But it's not true," John protested. "The breakfast tray--"

"Egbert, you utter moron, you do that for me every weekend!" Vriska exclaimed. She gritted her fangs, digging her nails into her knees. "And you always make it so special... with those chocolate chip pancakes you make, and fresh fruit, and whipped cream you make on your own... But I can't even boil water without burning the kitchen!"

"Vriska, don't be so hard on yourself, that only happened once..." Vriska's shoulders tightened as she looked away, and John cringed. Bad choice of words there. "But, the point is, the breakfast... I really loved it! It really meant a lot to me, and..." He looked at the items on the table. "Whoa, are those all Nic Cage DVDs? You were planning a Cage movie marathon for tonight?" He grinned.

Vriska sniffled. "I guess... I thought it would be really great... But we do that all the time, don't we? The movie thing. It's not special, it's _stupid_." She bit her lower lip. "And to think that I wanted to... to dress all nice and fancy for this... And this stupid flower, Kanaya said it'd be romantic, but that's not what's going to make this night special, is it? What was I even thinking...?"

John looked at her in awe for a few moments. "Oh, Vriska," he said with a sigh. He embraced her, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "You are such a doofus sometimes."

"Hey, _you're_ the doofus," Vriska retorted automatically. "Wait, why am I a doofus?"

John raised his head and brought his finger to Vriska's chin, gingerly coaxing her to look at him. He beamed at her. "Don't you realize that this is what makes it all special?"

"This...?" Vriska's eyes were wide, giving her the appearance of a lost child. "What are you talking about, John?

"The fact that you care so much about what I'll think," John explained. "That you want to make everything special for me for my birthday. You went completely out of your way to make me happy!" He gently caressed her cheek. "That in itself makes me feel like I have the best girlfriend in the world. I'm pretty much the luckiest guy ever."

Vriska gulped, her face turning an interesting shade of blue. "Did you learn all that crap from one of Karkat's stupid romcoms...?"

John laughed. "Vriska, I'm serious! All my friends celebrated with me and got me awesome gifts and now I'm getting to spend some time alone with my girlfriend - my beautiful girlfriend who made me breakfast and brought me a beautiful flower and wants to make me happy more than anything - and we'll be watching some of my favorite movies... This is the best birthday. Thank you so much."

Vriska smiled, almost shyly. "Well... if you really think so, then I guess... I guess I'll take that compliment."

"Great!" John smiled back as Vriska rubbed at her damp eyes.

"So, John..."

"Hmmm?"

The troll girl flashed him a sly smile. "If you're so grateful, then how about a thank you kiss?"

With a laugh, John wrapped his arms around Vriska. "Oh babe, I can do so much more than that," he said, raising his eyebrows. With that, he nuzzled into Vriska's neck, grinning against her skin as she practically giggled with glee and called out, "Joooooooohn, you dork, that's not a kiss!".

Midnight found John and Vriska cuddled under a warm blanket on their couch, in the midst of the best Nic Cage movie marathon paradox space had ever seen. Vriska hummed appreciatively and cuddled closer as John rubbed absently at the base of one of her horns, and he smiled at the sound of her voice.

It would take a lot to top his first birthday with Vriska. But he knew that as long as he and Vriska were together, every birthday is going to be special.


End file.
